DENVER — The gravitational pull of Planet Huffington drew them in relentlessly in this convention-besieged city: news anchors, U.S. senators, Hollywood luminaries and everyday folks, orbiting like so many moons.
Everyone here at the Democratic National Convention, it seems, can't wait to trade a greeting, an air kiss or a little banter with Arianna Huffington, founder of the most popular blog in America.
I confess I'm as charmed and amused by the beguiling Ms. H as anyone but also slightly queasy about whether her Huffington Post will ever offer original content and reporting that lives up to the hype and pretty packaging.
The site has earned its niche as a vibrant aggregator for the political left, to be sure. It breaks news sporadically, gathers the best work from mainstream news organizations and occasionally has landed a scoop that shifted the dialogue in campaign '08.
Go to Huffington Post to find out about John McCain's ties to controversial evangelical pastor John Hagee or to learn about another politician's gaffe. Linger, if you feel the need, for volumes of political commentary, which can range from former Sen. Gary Hart's screed against Hillary Rodham Clinton to frothy musings about hope from faded song bird Cyndi Lauper.
The site made its biggest splash last spring, when one of its citizen bloggers gained access to a "closed press" fundraiser in San Francisco and reported Barack Obama's inartful comments about economically distressed voters, saying they sometimes salved their bitterness with guns, religion and attacks on people unlike themselves. "Bitter-gate," without doubt, will live well into the fall campaign.
Huffington dropped a bomblet of her own in May, when she posted a story recalling a conversation with a disgruntled couple who confided they had not voted for George W. Bush for president in 2000 because of his campaign's nasty attacks. The couple, John and Cindy McCain, vehemently denied the claim.
Huffington regulars Tom Edsall and Sam Stein have also come to be regular sources of sharp political stories. Rachel Sklar offers quick and lively commentary on the media. And endless contributors, many of them dropping by this week in Denver, provide Huff Post a heft of contributions well beyond what 46 full-time and 15 part-time staffers could produce on their own.
